Edmonton Question of the Week: Why doesn't R2-D2 use his manuvering jets in Episodes 4, 5 and 6???

What is your theory?

I have a couple of my own...

A) He will have them break down in EP III, and because of the upheaval of the Republic and the lack of funds/supplies for the Rebellion, nobody has the parts/time to fix him properly.

B) When he gets his memory wiped at the end of EP III, Obi-Wan has them removed so that he will look like any other Astromech unit and won't draw attention to himself in the years between EP III and EP IV.

What do YOU think?

May the Force be with you all,

Indy

 

i think i read on the official site (?) that george lucas himself said something about the jets having only a 25 year warranty (no joke...i'm damn sure i read this somewhere...

 

How do we know that R2-D2 did not have the jets in the original trilogy? Maybe we just didn't see them on screen. For example, on Dagobah, when Luke was about to leave, how did Artoo get into the droid socket in the back of the X-wing? How do we know that all of the astromec droids didn't have the jets to help them get into their ships when the land anywhere other than a docking facility? It is possible that they are a big drain on energy, and therefore not to be used if avoidable.... Who knows besides George Lucas?

 

major_jedi_failure is correct. Here is a link to the official explanation.

Holonet News

 

Well that is a good "cop out" excuse by Uncle George, but doesn't satisfy me...

I'm sure we can all come up with a better reason than the "official" one...

Indy